Habit Experiment

Audrey Bedwell

NHM 530

The University of Alabama

September 30 2022
Habit Experiment 1

Starting the Project and Application of Theory of Planned Behavior

The habit I chose for this assignment was my morning coffee. More specifically I had

gotten into the habit of every work day, having a Starbucks canned coffee. I was consuming 5

cans of it during the week. I also tended to buy it on weekends. If I was going to stay up late

gaming with friends; I bought a coffee. If I was going to drive longer than 30 minutes, I bought a

coffee. I would estimate I drank anywhere from 5 to 8 cans a week.

To change my habit my goal was to stop drinking canned coffee drinks throughout the

week. I still planned to allow them for road trips and late night gaming with my friends. In order

to change I attempted to set myself up for success by having coffee available to brew at home as

well as caffeinated tea at work. To reward myself I chose to put $3 in my house buying fund for

every day I didn’t buy a canned coffee; I choose $3 as this is how much the canned coffee cost at

my local gas station.

My perceived benefit at the beginning of the experiment included, saving money,

reducing added sugar intake, and lowering my caffeine tolerance. Coffee and caffeine are a

social norm in work culture, so having a backup beverage reduced the peer pressure of drinking

less canned coffee. At the beginning my self-efficacy was ok; I rated myself at a 6 (Appendix 2).

My own personal accomplishment of previously reducing coffee intake from 6-8 cups per day to

2-3 gave me some confidence. When starting this assignment I became somewhat discouraged as

I realized I essentially had to start over on reducing my caffeine intakes as each can of Starbucks

has 3 servings of caffeine. My biggest barrier is my own issues with chronic daytime sleepiness,

which I have struggled with since high school. Caffeine makes days start and go easier, without

it I often feel as if I am struggling to get through my day. The other barrier was effort; it's a lot

easier to buy premade coffee than make your own.

Habit Experiment 2

Application of Food Choice Theory

Prior to this assignment, I didn’t think much about this behavior. I could acquire it easily,

either on my way to work at a gas station or at work itself from the cafeteria. Since my coffee

was already flavored in the can, I did not need to think about preparation or service as I could

drink it straight from the can. I did often find myself pouring it over ice to make it more

enjoyable. The preparation and service of pouring it over ice was very easy, as I have my own

reusable tumbler in my office and the ice machine is directly across the hall. The eating behavior

for my coffee was mindless; I simply drank it while getting myself organized for the day.

I would say this became a habit when the coffee machine broke in our department at

work. It acted like a turning point1. I started stopping at the gas station on the way to work to

grab coffee. Since the brewed coffee was often out at the little gas station, I started to buy canned

coffee, which up to this point had been a road trip treat.

Several factors influenced this habit. Personal factors included food preference; I just

really enjoy the taste of the canned coffee. Resources also influenced my decision; coffee wasn’t

easily available in my department when I started doing this, so coffee acted as a limited resource.

Financially, it wasn’t a resource strain as I could easily afford the coffee.

There were several personal systems involved in making this habit. My value negotiation

with myself was knowing my work lunch was free, so the cost of my morning coffee was

essentially what I would have spent on lunch. The morning coffee was definitely a routinization

strategy as well as my script; you drink coffee in the morning and coffee was simply a part of my

morning ritual1.
Habit Experiment 3

Journey Through the Stages of Change

Before hearing of this assignment I would have put myself in a contemplation stage2. I

knew I needed to make a change, but hadn’t. I knew I was drinking too much canned coffee, and

had half-heartedly told myself “I’ll stop next week” for several months. I moved into the

preparation stage when working on this project. Making the habit contract and filling it out gave

me actions I could work on throughout the process (Appendix 1 and 2).

I used several processes from the transtheoretical model for this habit experiment.

Learning of the assignment acted as a consciousness raising process. The assignment made me

actively examine my behaviors to find a habit to change. It was appropriate for my early pre-

contemplative stage. Commitment was used when I wrote out the behavioral contract. I wrote out

my goal and rewards; this acted as my turning point from pre-contemplative to action stage. I

attempted to use counter-conditioning by trying to substitute the canned coffee, for home brewed

coffee and tea with splenda instead of sugar. I attempted to use stimulus control, by not driving

past the gas station on the way to work; this unfortunately did work as my other routes also all

had gas stations. I used reinforcement management by rewarding myself with cash for each day I

didn’t buy canned coffee. I believe the behavioral processes I used were appropriate for the

action stage2.

I would say at this point I am in the action stage. I do have some new behaviors that I

have actively started using2. Having tea available at my desk has prevented me from feeling the

need to go buy it in the cafeteria in the morning. Tea still isn’t as good as coffee, so I am still

looking for one I like enough to truly replace my coffee.

Habit Experiment 4

Final Results

The goal I set was to stop buying canned coffee on work days. Of the 14 days, I only

bought canned coffee on 3 days. A 79% success rate would normally make me proud. This didn’t

have the same effect; I really only didn’t drink coffee most of the second week because I was ill,

not because of the changes I was trying to make. It’s hard to know if the performance cue

(having coffee and tea easily available) actually helped, as again most of my success was due to

illness, not intent3.

I do think my goal was appropriate. My chronic daytime sleepiness barrier wasn’t a huge

hindrance, as I did replace it with an alternative caffeine source, just a less concentrated one. My

motivation to change could have been stronger, as without this project I doubt I would have

made the effort.

I think my reward didn’t help as much as I hoped. The $3 just didn’t seem to bring me as

much happiness as my morning can of coffee did. To improve the reward I would move all the

money over monthly instead of each day; I feel the impact of $60 going into my account each

month would feel more impactful than $3.

Applications for Nutrition Counseling

There are several concepts from this assignment that could be used in patient counseling.

Finding out where a patient is in the stages of change model can help guide education, as giving

more information about why to change is needed for those in the pre-contemplative and

contemplative stage. Using behavioral processes, such counter-conditioning and stimulus

control, can be used with patients. Stimulus control, such as removing ice cream from your

freezer, alongside counter conditioning, such as having frozen fruit available, can help patients
Habit Experiment 5

replace habits. The contract I made could be used for several other nutrition changes such as

losing weight, reducing salt consumption, and eating more fruits and vegetables 2.
Appendix 1: Blank Health Contract
Healthy Habit Planning
I, ____________________, am aware that I have habits and behaviors I want to change in order
to better my health.

I want to _______________________________________________________

How motivated are you to make this change? Please circle what number fits you below

Least Motivated 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Most Motivated

In order to reach my goal I will….
(Write out at least 2 behaviors you will change in order better reach your goal)

Reward yourself! Change is hard. Write out how you will reward yourself for working towards a
better you! (Example: Each day I go to the gym, I will add an extra dollar to my vacation fund)

Track your progress! Use the table below to track your progress. Tracking your mood can help
you figure out why some days are harder.

Mood Key:
A=Angry H=Happy C=Calm S=Sad A=Anxious U= Unwell E=Excited T=Tired

Goal Key:
:D= goal complete :( = goal incomplete

Day
Mood
Goal
Appendix 2: Filled Behavioral Contract
Healthy Habit Planning
I, __Audrey Bedwell______, am aware that I have habits and behaviors I want to change in order
to better my health.

I want to _____stop drinking canned coffee every morning before work__________________

How motivated are you to make this change? Please circle what number fits you below

Least Motivated 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Most Motivated

In order to reach my goal I will….
(Write out at least 2 behaviors you will change in order better reach your goal)

 Have coffee available at home.

 Have tea bags and splenda in my desk at work

Reward yourself! Change is hard. Write out how you will reward yourself for working towards a
better you! (Example: Each day I go to the gym, I will add an extra dollar to my vacation fund)

 I will move $3 dollars into my house fund account for each day I don’t buy a canned
coffee.

Track your progress! Use the table below to track your progress. Tracking your mood can help
you figure out why some days are harder.

Mood Key:
A=Angry H=Happy C=Calm S=Sad A=Anxious U= Unwell E=Excited T=Tired

Goal Key:
:D= goal complete :( = goal incomplete

Day 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Mood T A T E E H H T U U U U U U
Goal :( :D :( :D :D :D :( :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
 References

1. Sobal J, Bisogni C. Constructing Food Choice Decisions. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

2009;38(S1):37-46. doi:10.1007/s12160-009-9124-5

2. Stage Of Change, Transtheoretical Model Lecture.; 2022.

https://ualearn.blackboard.com/ultra/courses/_241863_1/cl/outline. Accessed September

29, 2022.

3. Riet J, Sijtsema S, Dagevos H, De Bruijn G. The importance of habits in eating

behaviour. An overview and recommendations for future research. Appetite.

2011;57(3):585-596. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2011.07.010